With the countdown to the March elections and early general elections, a mass naturalization exercise is taking place. The allegation has been due process is not being followed in the rush before the elections and earlier this week an Orange Walk resident disclosed that her house address had been fraudulently used. This morning at the […]
On Wednesday the board of the Social Security decided to suspend, effective immediately, C.E.O. Merlene Bailey and the Internal Auditor, Denise Mahler. It was an unprecedented move and a monumental blow to Bailey, who has generally been viewed as a model public officer. Bailey was the chair of the D.F.C. Commission of Inquiry in 2007 […]
Today the Belize National Fire Service officially welcomed a new intake of firemen. The recruits, who trained for three months will be attached to stations around the country. Aside from the lessons to tackle fires, at the ceremony this morning, they acknowledged the importance of teamwork. News Five’s Andrea Polanco was at the event, where […]
Fern Lane is located in the St Marin de Porres area of Lake Independence. It is an area that has gained notoriety for gang warfare that has ended the lives of many. Struggling to clean up their images, at risk youths have embarked on an exercise to rid the neighborhood of both the stigma and […]
The annual Revenue Tax Fair kicked off today in six locations across the country. Three departments that bring in revenue to the government coffers organized the event. In Belize City, activities were held at the Charles Bartlett Hyde Building on Mahogany where the Income Tax, GST and Customs partnered with stakeholders to educate the public […]
There is a major shakeup in the Social Security Board tonight and it is the first of a kind. The Board of Directors at an emergency meeting today, recommended that its C.E.O. Merlene Bailey be suspended from her duties at S.S.B. This comes on the heels of a story we broke on Friday of insider […]
On Tuesday the People’s United Party issued a release which pointed fingers at the senior management of S.S.B., including C.E.O. Merlene Bailey whom it said is part of the insider trading scheme. Sources close to News Five confirmed today that at the board meeting, it was disclosed that Bailey had reduced her loan to qualify […]
There’s another hot button issue that is stirring up controversy. On Friday of last week News Five broke the story of the rushed naturalization-taking place in Belmopan. Hundreds stood in line outside of the George Price Center where they were sworn in and walked away with their nationality certificates. The process is facilitated to pad […]
Aside from the use of fraudulent addresses in Orange Walk, this morning in Ladyville dozens of immigrants lined up outside a private house in the Mitchell Estate area, a stone’s throw away from the home of area representative Michael Hutchinson, where it is believed that immigration officers were on hand to facilitate the naturalization process. […]
Earlier we told you about the mass naturalization of new Belizeans. In Orange Walk, a resident disclosed on Tuesday with documents that persons were fraudulently using her address and today in Ladyville others were caught on amateur video at a private house where they were being facilitated with the processing for naturalizing. The PM has […]
The deadline for the registration of new voters has been extended from today to January twentieth. And there is a mad rush to register to vote in March seventh election or the upcoming general elections whenever they are called which, according to the Prime Minister, is very soon. So on Friday, as many as four […]
The People’s United Party, which was also accused of the same practice before the last election, today issued a lengthy release on the issue charging that due process and the necessary rigorous scrutiny are being ignored on naturalization applications, and many of those persons who are being sworn in as instant Belizeans do not even […]
The snap termination of a contract sent workers of Belize Maintenance Limited to the streets. This time it’s not over unpaid debts to BML, but it is over the abrupt cancelation of a garbage collection contract, which has been in effect for the past two years. The workers protested in front of City Hall this […]
The Social Security Board is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to deal with reports that select staff members have found a way to benefit from the write-off of mortgages of up to fifty thousand dollars offered by the Prime Minister. We first reported about the allegations of insider trading among staff members, including top management, […]
The case against the Coye family has been one of the most high profile Money Laundering cases in Belize. Michael and Marlene Coye, their son Jude, daughter Melonie, her husband James Gerou as well as two employees Athlee Matute and Deitrick Kingston were all charged along with the family’s business Money Exchange International Limited. The […]
While the FIU attempts to seal convictions in three current cases, an ongoing workshop at the Radisson is training members of the judiciary to properly enforce money laundering legislation and deter future incidents. The workshop is being held on the premise that with proper enforcement and stiff penalties in place, foreign investors will have more […]
Municipal elections and possibly General Elections are on the horizon. Some campaigns ads are being churned out to provide a selling point for politicians. However, an easier way to make a case to the electorate is to do visible groundwork. If you travel along the north side of Belize City this week you should have […]
St. John’s College Junior College launched Volume thirty-one, Number Two of its esteemed publication, Belizean Studies. The journal of social research and thought is expected to stimulate further research into our own identity. Nigel Encalada, Director for Institute of Culture and Social Research says the journal explores the dynamic cultural history of Belize from the […]
In May of 2001, the prison embarked on two programs. One of them was a victim awareness program where convicts could undergo rehabilitation and eventually meet and apologize to families of their victims. The other was a school program that took students to see what life was like behind bars. News Five accompanied one class […]
In Friday’s newscast, we showed you the video of hundreds of persons lining up at the George Price Centre in Belmopan where they took the oath to become new Belizean citizens. The rush to process and bestow citizenship on hundreds of persons is telling because municipal elections are just around the corner. And with the […]
The month of January is considered “maaga season” since it follows a spending spree for the Christmas holidays. But that won’t be a problem for one lucky Dangriga resident who won the one hundred and seventeen thousand, five hundred dollar Lotto jackpot last Wednesday. Small business owner, Disarki Lewis, says he was in disbelief when […]
The House of Representatives is being convened for next Friday and speculation is that the prime minister may drop a bomb. PM Dean Barrow will also seek House approval to write off over seventeen million dollars in housing loans with the Social Security Board. According to the PM, the government will spend in the range […]
There is a strong breeze of electioneering that is blowing not only among town and city councilors but also standard bearers. And while the Prime Minister has not given a specific date for the general elections, we note that elected Caribbean Shores Representative Santi Castillo is fixing up a city park and promising to pave […]
Also here on the north side, late this evening the Ministry of Works and City Council were in Caribbean Shores assessing the streets that are about to be paved. Boots singled out Caribbean Shores and Freetown for areas that are being upgraded. In the Freetown, the P.U.P. party leader and area representative will be challenged […]
The funeral for nine-year-old Grace Primary Student Aaron Pope was held this afternoon. Pope was killed and his sister, Kadisha Saldano, was injured while they both slept at their home on George Street early Saturday morning. Family, friends, and Housing Minister Michael Finnegan attended a two o’clock ceremony at the Queen Street Baptist Church. As […]
